ANiMA is a unique exploration of ancestry, culture, nature, and technology. Animations are projected onto a custom screen while multi-instrumentalist Jyun Jyun plays original, folk infused electronic music, integrating traditional Chinese instruments and accompanied by a live percussionist.  Using cutting edge technology, interactive visuals map onto performers’ bodies, responding directly to their movements. A video artist manipulates visual effects in real-time while shadow dancers and puppeteers perform. Each song represents an ancient myth, introduced through storytelling. The performers bring the myths to life through full-body costumes and audience interaction. The stage itself is an interactive altar, where participants are invited to offer incense and hand-made crafts to the stage to pay homage to the stories of ancestors.

ANiMA has engaged audiences in a variety of venues including theaters, museums, music festivals, film festivals, private events and outdoor shows. Most recently ANiMA was the featured performance at the Asian Art Museum and SFMOMA.

missTANGQ is trained in Chinese folk dance and movement techniques based on Yin-Yang philosophy. She combines these ancient tools with new interactive media and video installations to create ceremonious experiences that migrate between time, cultures, the subconscious and imaginative realms. Aimed at healing modern disconnections between self, others and nature,  her performance work re-unites the sacred into urban life. Through the creation of new rituals grounded in her cultural tradition, she weaves together a tapestry of storytelling, co-creation, and transformative communion.

missTANGQ is a member of the Lily Cai Dance Company. Shanghai native choreographer Lily Cai blends Chinese traditional, folk, and classical Chinese styles with Western ballet and modern dance, to create contemporary, stunning and cinematic works of art.

To learn more about the company, the Lily Cai technique, and information on future performances, please visit the Lily Cai homepage.

Photography by Cindy Vo.